Mickey Walker (boxer)

Mickey Walker
Statistics
Real name	Mickey Walker
Nickname(s)	Toy Bulldog
Rated at	Welterweight Middleweight Light Heavyweight Heavyweight
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Reach	67 in (170 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	July 13, 1901 or 1903 Elizabeth, New Jersey
Died	April 28, 1981
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	163
Wins	131
Wins by KO	60
Losses	25
Draws	5
No contests	2

Edward Patrick "Mickey" Walker (July 13, 1903 (some sources indicate 1901) – April 28, 1981) was an American professional boxer who held both the World Welterweight and Middleweight Championships at different points in his career. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, he was also an avid golfer and would later be recognized as a renowned artist. Walker is widely considered one of the greatest fighters ever, with ESPN ranking him 17th on their list of the 50 Greatest Boxers of All-Time and boxing historian Bert Sugar placing him 11th in his Top 100 Fighters catalogue.^[1][2] Statistical website BoxRec rates Walker as the 6th best middleweight ever while, The Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer placed him at #4.^[3] The International Boxing Research Organization ranked Walker as the #4 middleweight and the #16 pound-for-pound fighter of all-time.^[4] Walker was inducted in to the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1957 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame as a first-class member in 1990.^[5]

Professional career

Portrait of Walker

Career beginnings

Walker boxed professionally for the first time on February 10, 1919, fighting Dominic Orsini to a four round no-decision in his hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Walker did not venture from Elizabeth until his eighteenth bout, when he went to fight at Newark. On April 29, 1919, he was defeated by knockout in round one by Phil Delmontt, suffering his first defeat.

In 1920, he boxed twelve times, winning two and participating in ten no-decisions. Once again, all his bouts were held in New Jersey, which was, at the time, one of the areas where scoring systems had not been installed in boxing, therefore, each fight that lasted the scheduled distance was automatically declared a no-decision, regardless of who the better boxer had been.

World welterweight champion

He boxed sixteen times in 1921, winning six, losing one and having nine no-decisions. By then, Rhode Island had already become one of the areas where scoring in fights had been installed to allow fighters to get decision victories and this attracted Walker twice to the area. He lost on a disqualification to Joe Stenafik his first time there, but earned his first decision win in twelve rounds against Kid Green the second time around. He also held world champion boxer Jack Britton to a no-decision back in his home state of New Jersey and beat Nate Siegal in Boston.

In 1922, Walker went 3-4-4 before getting a world title shot. He lost to Jock Malone during that span. However, on November 1 of that year, he found himself a world title challenger against Britton, who was the World Welterweight Champion. Walker outpointed Britton over fifteen rounds to become the new world champion.

Walker vs. Greb

He had thirteen fights in 1923, winning 11, having one no decision and one no contest. He defended the title twice, against Pete Latzo and Jimmy Jones. Nine bouts followed in 1924, Walker winning six and having three no decisions. He defeated Lew Tendler and Bobby Barrett in defense of his world title and had two of his three no decisions that year against Jock Malone.

After winning two fights to start 1925, he went up in division to challenge World Middleweight Champion Harry Greb on July 2 but failed to win the Middleweight crown at that time, losing a fifteen round decision to the 160-pound (73 kg) division champion. He went back to the welterweight division, defending his title against Dave Shade and retaining it by decision. He won three bouts, lost one and had three no decisions that year.

World middleweight champion

Walker (right), posing with Tiger Flowers before their 1926 title bout

On May 20, 1926, he lost the World Welterweight title in a rematch with Pete Latzo. It seemed Walker, now in his 20s, had physically matured out the welterweight division; though many might also point to his extra-curriculars. Whatever the reasons, Walker then began concentrating on winning the World Middleweight Championship. On November 22, he finally was able to beat Jock Malone. On December 3, he conquered the world's middleweight title with a controversial ten-round decision over world champion Tiger Flowers. He kept that title for five years, although he only defended it three times during that span. He beat Mike McTigue and former world champion Paul Berlenbach.

On March 28, 1929, he tried to become a member of the exclusive group of boxers who have been world champions in three different weight divisions, however, he failed in his attempt when he was defeated in a close ten round decision to World Light Heavyweight Champion Tommy Loughran. On June 19, 1931, Walker decided to give away his world middleweight title to take a leap into the heavyweight division.

Later career

His debut as a Heavyweight on July 22 against former World Heavyweight Champion Jack Sharkey, ended with a fifteen round draw (tie). In 1932, he went 5-1, beating such fighters as King Levinsky and Paulino Uzcudun before facing former World Heavyweight Champion Max Schmeling, who knocked Walker out in round eight.

He went down in weight again, to the light heavyweight division in 1933, when he lost a fifteen round decision to Maxie Rosenbloom for the world title. The next year, Walker rematched Rosenbloom and was awarded a decision win. Unfortunately for Walker, Rosenbloom, though still champion, had taken Walker on in a non-title fight. Undaunted, Walker kept campaigning in that division until 1935, when he retired after losing to Eric Seelig by a seven round technical decision.

Retirement and death

Walker opened a restaurant after retirement and his restaurant became a popular dining place in New York City. He became an accomplished painting artist, many of his works being exhibited at New York and London art galleries. During his boxing career, he found golf to be a suitable distraction to his training regimen and he often dragged his manager Doc Kearns and his kids to golf courses to play golf.

Walker was found by police in 1974 lying on a street in Freehold, NJ and taken to a hospital, where he was admitted with doctors initially thinking he was just a drunken man picked up at the streets. But further testing revealed that Walker was suffering from Parkinson's Syndrome, Arteriosclerosis and Anemia; he died on April 28, 1981 in Freehold, NJ.

References

1. "50 Greatest Boxers of All-Time". ESPN. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
2. "Bert Sugar's All-Time Greatest Fighters". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
3. "All-Time Middleweight Rankings". BoxRec. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
4. "All-Time Middleweight Rankings". International Boxing Research Organization. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
5. Cyber Boxing Encyclopedia - Mickey Walker CyberBoxingZone.com Retrieved on 2014-04-30

External links

• Walker at Cyber Boxing Zone
• Mickey Walker at The Boxing Magazine
• Professional boxing record for Mickey Walker from BoxRec